Four die in Mount Bromo wildfire as 799 hotspots recorded

Four people died and two volunteers remained hospitalized with serious burns after a firefighting team became trapped by smoke and flames in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java, police said. The incident occurred Thursday, October 15, as Indonesia faced a rising number of wildfire hotspots nationwide. The victims were part of a 12-person team of national park personnel, community fire brigade members and local volunteers trying to contain the blaze in the park’s Mentigen and Pusung Lingker areas, East Java police spokesperson Jules Abraham Abast said. Strong winds pushed flames through dry vegetation, trapping team members, according to Abast. Rescuers found three people dead and three with severe burns at an evacuation point. One of the injured later died while receiving treatment, Abast said. Two volunteers were transferred to Dr. Soetomo General Hospital in Surabaya and remained hospitalized with serious burns. Six members of the team escaped unharmed. Probolinggo police chief Asmida Rizki Siregar said the remote, mountainous terrain complicated the rescue. Emergency crews carried victims on stretchers for about 2 kilometres because vehicles could not reach the...